Nick Flynn at WC

CHESTERTOWN, MD— On March 23, 2012 Poet and author Nick Flynn gave a free reading in the Daniel Z. Gibson Center for the Arts as part of Sophie Kerr Weekend at Washington College.

Flynn read excerpts from his memoir The Ticking is the Bomb (Norton, 2010) a book defined by a review in the Los Angeles Times as “a disquieting masterpiece” and by Kirkus Reviews as “a striking collection of memories that will mystify, enlighten, trouble, and amaze.” In this deeply personal narrative, Flynn recalled his unstable childhood and the scars that stay with him as he prepared to become a father in a post-9/11 world. With the horrors of Abu Ghraib broadcasting on the news and his own demons of addiction plaguing him, Flynn explored the place of torture, suffering, and redemption in today’s world.

The Ticking is the Bomb was the 2012 pick for First-Year Book at Washington College; the members of the class of 2015 were encouraged to read it prior to their arrival on campus. The First-Year Book program gives new students a common experience over the summer and introduces them to Washington College’s tradition of bringing great writers to campus.

Flynn’s first book, PEN Award winner Another Bullshit Night in Suck City (Norton, 2004), has been made into a film by Focus Features. Starring Robert De Niro, Paul Dano, and Julianne Moore, Being Flynn opened in limited release on March 2.

Flynn’s poems, essays, and nonfiction have appeared in The New York Times, the Paris Review, The New York Times Book Review, and on the public radio program This American Life. He has been awarded fellowships from the Guggenheim Foundation, the Library of Congress, the Amy Lowell Trust, and the Fine Arts Work Center.